The first semifinal, in which the Ukrainian duo participated, has ended. After it, bookmakers predict Ukraine to take the third place in the overall ranking, while fans and opponents of Ukrainian singers continue to discuss their performance. What is so interesting and special about this year’s duo alyona alyona and Jerry Heil at Eurovision 2024?
We write it ourselves – we sing it ourselves
The lyrics of the song are written by both performers – Aliona Savranenko (also known as alyona alyona) and Yana Shemaeva (known to us as Jerry Heil). Two men, Anton Chilibi and Ivan Klymenko, are also credited as co-authors, ensuring gender equality among the lyricists.
By the way, Ivan Klymenko is the author of the lyrics of a song that previously brought Ukraine first place, as he wrote the song “Stefania” for the group “Kalush Orchestra,” which won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2022. He has also collaborated with Jamala, Nadia Dorofeyeva, the rapper Skofka, and other Ukrainian singers and bands.
What does Hitler have to do with this?
The song was released long before Eurovision 2024 and was very successful, charting not only in Ukraine but also in Poland, Finland, and the Czech Republic. After the first semifinal, the song “Teresa & Maria” quickly climbed the charts in Austria, the UK, Estonia, Cyprus, Italy, Latvia, Serbia, Germany, Lithuania, Switzerland, Norway, and even Taiwan.
However, it was not without controversies: in Poland, there were calls to boycott voting for Ukraine. The reason was a TikTok video from March 2024, where Jerry Heil performs the composition “Teresa & Maria” in a sweatshirt with the inscription “Banderaciaga.” This peculiar word is a combination of “Bander” (the leader of the OUN) and the brand Balenciaga. According to the majority of Poles, Bandera is a fascist and is responsible for the genocide of the Polish people.
That’s not all. Some Poles have started spreading thoughts on social media that the word Heil in the singer’s pseudonym is a reference to the greeting in fascist Germany during the Third Reich, which sounds like “Heil Hitler!”. Good thing they haven’t found out about the early pseudonym of the duo’s second member, which sounded like “Alina Al-Qaeda”.
But there’s really no need to be surprised by all of this, as in today’s polarized and highly politicized world, tensions have reached a maximum and spill over even into contests like Eurovision.
“They didn’t sing!”
After the live broadcast of the first Eurovision semi-final, alyona alyona and Jerry Heil received thousands of outraged and disappointed comments. This was due to the fact that the vocals and overall sound during the performance of the song “Teresa & Maria” were not very good, to put it mildly. The difference from the studio version that listeners loved was striking. The singers even faced accusations that it wasn’t their voices recorded in the studio, but those of other performers.
The actual performance recordings explained everything to those viewers who were present directly in the hall. The quality of the performance was impeccable there. So, the issues arose specifically in the broadcast, and the singers fulfilled their mission 100%. However, it’s worth understanding that the sound quality will impact how many votes “Teresa & Maria” receives from international viewers who watched the broadcast. Some even see this as a deliberate move by their competitors.
“Traumatic” song
Both singers sustained injuries during rehearsals for their Eurovision 2024 performance. The first injury was to alyona alyona. This happened during a general rehearsal the day before the semi-final. The reason – a three-kilogram chainmail from the stage costume that the girl stepped on and fell on the stage. She suffered scratches and tore a toenail, which is very painful.
Jerry Heil was injured during the performance. In the act, she had to fall on her knees, and she miscalculated the force of the fall. As a result, she bruised her knee. Immediately after the fall, a bandage was applied to reduce swelling. It is worth noting that this did not prevent her from delivering a top-level performance. Ukrainian women are resilient!
Symbols and hints
The choreographer of the act was Tanya Muino, a Ukrainian based in Odessa, who has worked on music videos for artists such as Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Elton John, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez, Lenny Kravitz, The Weeknd, and others. Among Ukrainian performers, she has collaborated with MONATIK, Vremya i Steklo, Nastya Kamenskykh, Michelle Andrade, Vera Brezhneva, and others.
The act incorporates numerous meanings:
– Costumes of alyona alyona and Jerry Heil. They are multi-layered and heavy. The weight was intentionally not reduced to accurately showcase the burden that currently lies on Ukrainian women. Alyona Alyona wears a chainmail with 10,000 metal rings, while Jerry Heil wears a torn and burnt dress that echoes the attire of Archangel Michael.
– The source shown in the room is depicted as a large stream of water. Ukrainians interpret this as a reminder of the explosion by the Russian army at the Kakhovska HES and the casualties it caused.
– The image of fireworks, which is so remembered by the viewers of Eurovision 2024, is actually an explosion of a cluster bomb, which the Russian army uses to attack both peaceful Ukrainian cities and villages, as well as Ukrainian positions, even though the use of such weapons is prohibited by international conventions.
– The main characters of the song, Mother Theresa and Virgin Mary, are symbols of kindness and feminine energy. The main message of the composition is in English – “all saints were born on earth.”
